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The development of Suzhou as a political,economic,and cultural center started during the reign of the Wu State in the Spring and Autumn Period of ancient China.It continued to grow through both the Han and Jing dynasties.The Parasol Garden built during the reign of the Wu state in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Garden of Gu Pijiang（顾辟疆）constructed in the Jing dynasty are the two precursors of early Suzhou gardens.The region south of Yantze grew especially prosperous in the Six Dynasties era.The three major cities in this region are Yangzhou,Nanjing and Suzhou.In due course each of the three cities developed its economy in its own way:the one as a center of commerce,the other as a base for silk textile and the artisan handcrafts,and the still another as a consumer town for bureaucrats.Suzhou became a site for handicraft manufacture and for consumer service for officials and land owners.

During the Sui dynasty,Emperor Yang,Yang Guan（隋炀帝,杨广）constructed the Grand Canal,thus improving the transportation of goods between the north and the south China.Since the Tang dynasty the maritime trade increased significantly,making the region south of Yangtze more prosperous than the time of the Six Dynasties.Toward the end of the Tang dynasty,while the central provinces of China were ravaged by constant warfare,the area of Wu and Yue states as well as the Southern Tang was less affected and remained stable and thriving.The status quo continued through the Northern Song dynasty.When Emperor Gao of the Song dynasty,Zhao Gou（宋高宗,赵构）,fled south,Suzhou became the seat of Ping Jiang Prefecture（平江府）.This city also served as the residence of Emperor Zhao Gou during this period.Moreover,there was a growing trend of land ownership consolidation at the time and,as a result,there appeared numerous mansions of rich families.All these conditions favored the expansion of Suzhou gardens at the time.During the period of both the North and South Song dynasties there emerged a number of famous gardens built in the Suzhou region.Su Sunqing（苏舜钦）constructed the garden Can Lang Ting（沧浪亭,The Canglang Pavilion）on the site of Qian family’s garden of the Wu-Yue period.On another site of the same Qian family’s garden,Zhu Changwen（朱长文）built Le Pu（乐圃）.Mei Xuanyi（梅宣义）built Wu Mu Yuan（五亩园）.Zhu Mian（朱勔）not only built and operated Gen Yue Garden（艮岳）for Zhao Jie（赵佶）,but also constructed Tong Le Yuan（同乐园）for his own enjoyment.Wang Huan（王焕）,Governor of Ping Jiang Prefecture,erected pavilions and dug ponds as a garden annex in the northern part of the government building.

During the Yuan dynasty,the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang continued to be a hub of wealth and prosperity.The activity in garden design and construction still ran brisk.The garden Shi Zi Lin（狮子林,The Lion Forest Garden）was one in case.During the Ming and the Qing dynasties land ownership consolidation became even stronger.Not only was Suzhou a major manufacturing site for silk textiles and a variety of artisan handcrafts since the period of the Tang and the Song dynasties,but also it had a high concentration of land owners and bureaucrats.From this region came a significant portion of people who entered into the service of civil servants（bureaucrats）through the Ke Ju（科举,imperialexam）system.This city led the country in the number of Zhuang Yuan（状元,highest honor from imperial exam）during the Qing dynasty.Upon retirement from the civil service,these civil servants purchased land and built residences.Profiting from land ownership as well as business operation,these people had gardens widely constructed for their enjoyment of leisure.They were also a major body of consumers of the handcrafts produced in this region.This general market condition is similar to that of Luoyang of the Sui and the Tang dynasties,Wuxing of the Southern Song dynasty,and Nanjing of the Ming dynasty.

Besides,Suzhou is endowed with the beauty of natural environment.It is situated in a region crisscrossed by waterways and dotted with numerous lakes.It is easy to find water sources and natural springs.In addition to the abundance of fresh water,the soil in this area is extremely fertile and conducive to the growth of flowers and plants.There are a number of quarries in the region providing easy access to masonry material.The famous Hu Shi（湖石,lake stone）can be found at Rao Feng Mountain（尧峰山）,East Dong Ting（洞庭东山）and West Dong Ting（洞庭西山）mountains.There are also a number of accessible quarries located in neighborhoods further away from Suzhou.But the quality of stones produced there is not as fine as that found in the quarries near the city.These quarries included Huang Mountain of Jiangyin（江阴黄山）,Zhang Gong Cave of Yixin（宜兴张公洞）,Chui Mountain（镇江圌山）and Da Xian Mountain（镇江大岘山）of Zhengjian,Long Tan Lake at Jurong（句容龙潭）,Qing Long Mountain of Nanjing（南京青龙山）,and Ma An Mountain of Kunshan（昆山马鞍山）.The priority choice of masonry for garden construction in Suzhou is lake stones for the reason of their extremely picturesque shapes.The biography of Dai Yong（戴颙）in Book of Song（宋书）notes“Yong came to live in the Wu region.The local scholars laid their heads together to design a house for him.They collected stones from around,channeled mountain springs to water trees planted and dug a pond after a pond.Before long,as the plants flourished,the scene of the villa became a part and parcel of the natural milieu.”

In addition,Suzhou is a major center of art and scholarship in the nation.It prides itself on having an abundance of poets,writers,and painters.The scholars not only created their own ideas,but also drew wisdom from theirresidence advisors known as Men Ke（门客）.It is recorded in the book Record of Wu Region Practices（吴风录）that:“The descendants of Zhu Mian（朱勔）live on the hill of Hu Qiu（虎丘）.They chose the occupation of stone craftsmanship in garden construction for the high officials and royalties.The locals call them Hua Yuan Zhi（landscapers,花园子）.”　Another passage from Miscellany in the Gui Xing Year（癸辛杂识）by Zhou Mi（周密）states:“The workers from Wuxing region are called rockery masons.This might be the legacy of Zhu Mian（朱勔）.”These records demonstrate the prevalence of both architects and artisans in the region.The most prominent designers since the Song dynasty were almost all from the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.Those designers worth mentioning are Yu Cheng（俞澂）,Lu Dieshan（陆叠山）,Ji Cheng（计成）,Wen Zhenghen（文震亨）,Zhang Lian（张涟）,Zhang Ran（张然）,Ye Yao（叶洮）,Li Yu（李渔）,Chou Haoshi（仇好石）,and Guo Yuliang（戈裕良）.Even today the majority of artisans specializing in rockery design come from the cities of Nanjing,Suzhou and Jinghua.Due to its long heritage in the Suzhou region,the rockery designers from Suzhou are the best known in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.According to the writings in the Record of Wu Region Practices the art of landscaping is not just limited to the scholars who have the wealth to design and construct the garden villas,it also finds its way among“even the commoners from Lu Yan（闾阎,countryside）who still decorate their homes with small rocks”.This shows the deep love of the local people for nature.

The city of Suzhou has inherited the largest and well-preserved collection of gardens within its city limits.It may well be called the city of gardens if we are able to make an inventory of the gardens still prevalent there.The gardens of Suzhou are the best amongst present day Chinese gardens.It is no wonder the gardens of Suzhou are often celebrated with the words“The gardens in the South of the Yangtze are the best in China,and the gardens of Suzhou are the best of South of the Yangtze”.Over a period of five years I was able to conduct a series of survey and research on these gardens.In addition I was also involved in the restoration of several gardens.In the last two summers I came here with the students of the Department of Architecture at Tongji University to conduct onsite teaching and surveys focusing on ancient architecture and gardens.Iavailed myself of the long field work gathering written and photographic data for reference.The gardens Zhuo Zheng Yuan（The Humble Administrator’s Garden,拙政园）and Liu Yuan（The Lingering Garden,留园）are used to illustrate prototypical design practices and evolution of Suzhou gardens.Other smaller gardens will be referred to wherever necessary.The verses used to describe the photos are collected or adapted from poems of the Song dynasty period.They are embellishments to the garden sceneries.